Yes, you’d find a future technology blog or blogs featuring topics of the future over the web even today. These places online introduces you to possibilities you can expect in the near future. You’ll read about science concepts or technological advancements which are currently being developed or studied. You will have a glimpse of the future now through a future technology blog.
Skeptics may say that a technology of the future blog isn’t as important as news or updates of the present. This is both true and not. While we should not set aside the need to be always updated with what’s happening around us at present, we must also have an idea about what’s in stored ahead. It’s like preparing for what’s coming up of the future in the same manner as we would plan day to day activities in a scheduler or journal.
There is no truth in the thought that anything of the future is not our concern today. Although there is a possibility that some future technology may be something we won’t live to see, a lot of them are definitely soon to be released before we even realize it. It was only more than two decades ago when the first fully functional mobile phone was released. No one would have expected that these phones will become what they are today. We’ve seen how portable cellular phones become smaller, slimmer, and smarter with the rise of touch screen technology, mobile Internet, and apps.
The same applies to computers. No one would have predicted that those bulky computers will evolve into laptops, notebooks, and tablet PCs. Only a futurism blog or site would bother to discuss or feature ideas that do not yet exist today but may possibly become an everyday gadget soon enough. Thus, reading a future technology blog will let you know what to expect of the future.
Anything of the future blog is also everyone’s concern. It’s not only the responsibility of scientists or geeks. Even regular people who would like to make a contribution to mankind in the field of science and technology should be involved with ideas of the future.
Everyone is familiar with bar codes. But this type of technology had been expanded with more improved functionalities and features. We now see QR codes, Microsoft Tags, and NFC technology everywhere. QR codes and Microsoft Tags can be easily spotted due to a bar code like logo in black and white or colorful designs. These function through scanner apps which can be downloaded through your mobile device. Simply scan the tags or codes and you will redirected to the website to get more information about the product or service being promoted by codes or tags.
The reason why this had been mentioned is due to the progress of NFC related technology. The NFC forum which consists of leading companies in mobile phones and communication had encouraged the participation of small businesses and even private individuals towards the development of this technology. In the same manner, a future technology blog will be able to disseminate the information about upcoming technologies of the future to the public and possibly persuade them to participate directly and indirectly.
Some great information from Marc Goodman on crime of the future. Gives the viewer an interesting new outlook on crime. Even criminals in San Francisco have built their own mobile masts to get their own service for phones that can not be tapped.
The days of the smart phone have ironically fettered mobililty, caging us in red and amber bars. What with manufacturers' obsessions with silly-speed processors and gargantuan bright screens, it's little wonder your juice is sluicing away in the blink of an iPhone.
You may be reluctant to relive the 1980s fashion for carrying around battery bricks, obsessed as you are withraz(o)r-thin handsets, so we need some fresh thinking. If you're sick of being in a perpetual state of tension over your phone croaking, like a particularly dull series of 24, then fill your boots with these phone charger concepts -- some ready to buy, some still glints in the developers' eye.
10. Slider charger
If we're talking about retro revivals, how about slider phones? No, not Qwerty keypads, but a charger that slips off the back of your phone, plugs into the wall when you're at work, and slides back in when it's play time again. Nope, we can't see that one getting lost in our desk full of widgets, dongles and USB sticks either.
9. Andru Android charger
No self-respecting Android fanboy should be without gorgeous little Andru. He spews juice downs the line in aDroidy-shaped charger. One unfortunate drawback of a toy-like plug is that it transforms the domestic socket into a source of naive curiosity. "Mummy, I want my eyes to light up too, what if I stick my finge..." pzzzzt.
8. PowerTrekk water-charger
Coming as it does via the Daily Mail, we'll take the claims that this charger provides 10 hours of battery life from a spoonful of water with a pinch of salt. Make that sodium silicide -- that's the magic ingredient that's said to react with the water to produce hydrogen gas to power your handset. Perfect for when you find yourself face-down in a puddle at the end of a heavy night out, badly in need of a taxi home.
7. Pedal power
One of the reasons your battery's constantly running dry is because you're sat on your widening derriere gawping at YouTube videos all day. Who can blame you when cats insist on behaving so cutely? Alleviate the guilt and a few calories with the K-TOR Power Box mobile phone-charging pedalo. If you can be bothered.
6. Gas mask charger
Don't waste your breath on the pedalo. Literally -- while you're working up a sweat with your tootsies, strap on thisfetching gas mask charger. It powers your phone through kinetic energy, effectively transforming your gob into a mobile wind farm. And if you're cycling around, you can imagine yourself being a speeder bike pilot in Return of the Jedi (as if you don't do that already).
5. Wind chargers
Talking of wind power, strap a line of these wind chargers under your wings and traverse the streets like an environmentally friendly cyborg Ravanelli Airbus.
4. Apple desk charger
Granted, Steve Jobs was a bit clever. But the one enduring failure of his legacy was not inventing a phone that lasted longer than a mayfly. And if you're fidgeting with your iJobbies all day, you're going to be left with one shrivelled-dry Apple. Sit your iPhone on the iDesk while you're at work, and problem solved.
3. Suitcase charger
One of our favourite chargers, if only for conjuring visions of tanned business executives rocking their suitcases back and forth like a pram in the VIP lounge. Re-juice your cell as you trudge through check-in with this ingeniousluggage-based tech breakthrough. By the looks of things, your phone appears to be suspended in mid-air by the charging cable, so you might also want to check your travel insurance for mobile theft cover.
2. Camping charger
Camping at a festival and your battery's as fried as you are? Then fire up the BioLite stove, which -- apart from not needing gas, which is ingenious enough -- will recharge your battery by burning twigs and pine cones. Just plug in your USB cable and the heat of the fire will do the rest. (Okay, who remembered to pack the USB...?)
1. Kitten charger
Undoubtedly the finest invention of the 21st century thus far. The tech world has yet to harness the seemingly boundless resource that is kitten power. Which is why this kinetic ball of wool charger simply had to come into existence. And if you don't have a cat, amuse yourself for hours rolling it back and forth on your desk, while the head of HR looks on quizzically and digs out your personal file.
Before you look at this picture, scroll right to the bottom of this whole website and look at the little fishes that follow your mouse. Now that your back from the bottom, you can carry on reading...
Ok, ok, admittedly the title is realllyyyyyy boring but, its genuinely quite interesting. I took this article from a site called "Tested" but before we go into the body of the text, i want to show you this picture...
Ta da....
How cool is that?
Very cool, that's the answer.
Now onto the waterproof shizzle you can put on iPhones.
"Nanocoating" - just trying to sound clever.
Years and years of use train us to expect certain things of our electronics. How do you react when a smartphone falls in a tank of water and doesn't immediately short out? Shock? Confusion? 2012 might be the year that reaction begins to change. Water-resistant coatings made big waves at CES this year by doing the seemingly impossible: shielding sensitive electronics from water with no visible casing or coating.
Liquipel, HzO and P2i all showed off waterproof nanocoatings at CES that are 1000 times thinner than a human hair. The services are essentially identical: a nanometer-thin coating is applied to a device as a gas, allowing it to penetrate inside the casing and repel liquids. Any of the three could be integrated into the smartphone manufacturing process in the near future, but only one--Liquipel--is offering a service directly to consumers.
All three nanocoating services describe their products with very similar language. Liquipel claims to be a "revolutionary process that applies a waterproof coating to your electronic device to protect them in the event of accidental exposure to liquids." That doesn't address the actual technology at work, but Liquipel's videos confirm the nanocoating is applied with a vapor process in a vacuum. They also use some seriously hyperbolic marketing language.
HzO's website is a bit more descriptive: they say their product is "a chemical vapor deposition that blankets vital electronic circuitry with a nano-thin film containing highly effective, water-repelling properties."
P2i's process dramatically reduces the surface energy of a product, so that when liquids come into contact with it, they form beads and simply run off.
P2i does the best job of detailing its nano coating: "P2i's patented technology employs a special pulsed ionized gas (plasma), which is created within a vacuum chamber, to attach a nanometre-thin polymer layer over the entire surface of a product. This process dramatically reduces the surface energy of a product, so that when liquids come into contact with it, they form beads and simply run off."
Here's where they diverge: HzO and P2i are shopping their coating process around as an addition to manufacturing. Both are outwardly optimistic about making deals with major manufacturers and bringing their technologies to the smartphone market sometime this year. And as futuristic as this all seems, it's not a completely new technology: P2i has videos on Youtube dating back to 2009, and nanotechnology has been showing up in consumer products for years before that.
P2i's already found a customer in Motorola. The RAZR ships with a coating called "SplashGuard," but a test from HzO seems to indicate the coating isn't fully waterproof.
Potential HzO bias notwithstanding, SplashGuard doesn't seem to live up to the standards of the tissue paper tests put forth by all three companies.
Liquipel will coat your smartphone for $60, so long as it's on the list of approved devices. The fact that Liquipel exists is actually great for this nanotechnology in general. If consumer feedback from coated devices comes back positive, companies like Apple and Samsung will be that much quicker to jump on board and integrate nanocoating into the manufacturing process.
BUT... wait for tommorow, very interesting article coming up, can't tell you what it is yet, that would ruin the surprise now wouldn't it, did i just remind you of when you were younger and you were actually excited for Christmas? No? Didn't think so, oh well, gave it a shot...
How cool would it be if we had holographs of each other as communication? Read this...
Communication of the future
From future of communication.
This episode of Future Talks is on the question of what is the future of communication and converstion.
The proliferation of communication technologies is influencing not only what it means to be in touch with our networks of family, friends, and colleagues, but also with ourselves. In observing the ways in which communication—and its more nuanced cousin, conversation—are evolving, we have a chance to reflect on what it means to be connected. The wide-ranging technologies bring a variety of usage styles, defined in part by generational preferences, but also influenced the attraction of novelty.
Brevity is the soul of bits. Studies of online communication done in the 1980’s already pointed to the shortening of messages that is now de rigueur in the world of IM and internet chat. We find politeness often sacrificed in the truncated exchanges, which permit less time for the niceties of face-to-face conversation. But parallel to this, especially among the Digital Natives, we also find that the quickness of messaging and variety of gadgets leads to a type of multi-conversational, multi-media, multi-tasking that allows users to live in a state of near constant electronic contact—a manner of being in the world unknown to previous generations, and one that brings with it different rules of engagement.
To arrive at a complete picture of communication in the digital age, however, we must note that video is on the rise (in contradiction to the expectation that we wouldn’t want to see ourselves “talk on the phone”), and coffee shops, travel opportunities, and social memberships abound—suggesting that we are still very much in tune to our need for a full-on, in person experience of ourselves as part of the human family. The challenge would appear to lie in finding opportunities to productively tune out, capturing the moments of quiet reflection that give our lives depth and balance.
In fact, as each wave of communication innovation subsumes the one that came before, we expect one of our greatest challenges to be not the integration of the technologies, but the ability to remove ourselves from constant connectivity. Will we find ourselves vacationing in electronic communication free zones? Will the Slow Food movement find a new voice in Slow Talk? Whether it is with others or with ourselves, we may the old Ma Bell jingle has a new imperative: “Unplug, unplug and touch someone.”
Before reading "Bicycles of the future", read through this. It’s about the IPO of facebook. Would be really interesting to see what happens to these technology tycoons.
Facebook files $5 billion IPO, values the company at nearly $100 billion
The rumor, speculation and awkward Winklevii jokes can end (at least for now) as Facebook has officially filed for its public offering. Underwritten by Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs amongst others, the internet's most popular site seeks to trade under the stock symbol "FB" when it goes public later this year. The company is seeking to raise $5 billion, according to this early filing, amounting to a lofty (and still tentative) valuation of almost $100 billion. If that turns out to be accurate, though, Zuck will be one (especially) rich man: with a nearly thirty percent share in the company, his net worth would balloon to almost $30 billion.
The process of going public also provides a rare glimpse into internal stats previously kept private, with documents revealing the service has 845 million active users each month -- nearly half of which log in and actuate 2.7 billion likes and comments each day. The filing also sheds light on the company's balance sheet, with revenues of $777 million, $1.97 billion and $3.71 billion in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively. All told, it logged profits of $229 million and $606 million in those years -- earnings that were bested by the $1 billion it netted in 2011. The majority of its revenue comes from advertising, yet a sizable chunk (12 percent) of last year's figure comes courtesy of Zynga. All in all, that's enabled the company to stash away nearly $4 billion in cash -- a sizable nest egg for a company only eight years old. As for Zuck, his 2011 salary of $500,000 will be cut to $1 as of January 2013, but he'll be more than comfortable, thanks to that 28.4 percent stake in the company.
Now, back to the main subject…
'Intelligent' bicycle of the future unveiled
A bike, with computer-like intelligence, which can never be stolen and has puncture-proof tyres could be in everyday use by 2029, says British Olympic cyclist Chris Boardman.
Chris Boardman hopes companies will have the courage to invest in something different.
BySasjkia Otto
Mr Boardman, 40, a former racing cyclist who won an individual pursuit gold medal at the 1992 Olympics, has unveiled a design that makes bikes as “intelligent” as computers.
Its system incorporates an “unbreakable” locking device that allows only the owner to open it via fingerprint recognition.
Other features include puncture-proof self-inflating tyres, a mini computer that counts calories as the pedals turn, a spokeless, lightweight carbon fibre frame and solar-rechargeable lights.
A battery-assisted motor, run by solar panels, takes over the pedalling after a long day and music accompanies the ride.
The bike could be created were a company willing to produce it, insists Mr Boardman, as "everything in it already exists".
This concept lets you control your bicycle by your brainwaves.
You’re looking at the bike of the future, where you’ll control gear shifts with your mind. This design concept is now in the prototype stage, and from the looks of the video above, it’s well on its way to a high-end bike shop near you.
Cyclistswill adore the bike’s multiple aerodynamic design features and carbon fiber construction, but the most astonishing thing about the bike is its ability to change gears using its rider’s brain waves.
Before riding while using its mind-reading capabilities, a cyclist needs to train the bike to read his mind. Its “thought sensitive” helmet picks up brain waves, which are transmitted to the bicycle’s brain-controlled electronic “neurotransmission. “
The cyclist acquaints brain with bike by practicing with an experimental iPhone app, moving a cube on its screen until the neural technology associates that thought with the neurotransmission. Once the link is made, all the cyclist has to do is think in that way and the bike’s gears will shift accordingly.
This is some serious magic. But it’s altogether possible – in fact, we’ve tested tech such as theXWavethat lets you control objects on a screen with yourbrainwaves, and it actually works well.
The Prius X Parlee is sponsored by bikemaker Parlee and Toyota as part of itsPrius Projects program.
It’s an outstanding idea, but can these designers and innovators mass-produce the bicycle at an affordable price?Update:Alas, the designers say, “The bike is intended only as a design exploration and will not be for sale.”
This video is related. Gives a different insight from a more design perspective rather than technology.
And finally, here is a few designs from a different concept. Enjoy...
Custom Bicycle Concepts | Throughout its lifetime of over a thousand years, the bicycle formula hasn’t changed much– a pair of wheels, a seat, a frame and pedals. While you shouldn’t always fix something that isn’t broken, progress is progress– and these 10 custom bicycle concepts show just how far progress can go. Some are strange, others are sexy, but all of them represent where the future of cycling could go, or reasons why it should stay the same. That much is up to you.
Artikar by Ben Wilson
Part bike, part car, part… halo? Ben Wilson’s Artikar is a four-wheeled recumbent bicycle enclosed within a fluorescent light halo. The light may be all for show, but bikes tend to be as much about style as they are about transportation nowadays. Recumbent bikes can register some pretty high speeds, and this flashy light becomes a safety measure when Ben weaves through the busy traffic in downtown London. Nice work, Mr. Wilson.
Artikar Gallery
Cube Urban Street Bike Concept
This fierce, folding fixie-style bicycle concept adds an entirely new frame philosophy to high speed bike design. The Cube Urban Street Bike Concept ditches the seat tube and top stoy sections of the traditional bike frame for this three-piece system that leaves the back wheel floating. Technically, this design could remove a significant amount of weight from the modern bicycle, but this design appears a bit bulky. Bulky or not, sexy it is. Can you imagine the heads you’ll turn carving up the pavement with this thing? We hope Cube has addressed stiffness issues, as working without those rear tubes can be problematic.
Forkless Cruiser Bike Concept by Olli Erkkila
While the Cube bike above ditched a few back bars for performance, the Forkless Cruiser Bike Concept by Olli Erkkila ditched the front fork altogether. Turn the handlebars and a long, curbed tube moves the front wheel side to side, effectively steering the bike. To see Olli ride it will appear confusing, as the missing front fork looks like some sort of magic trick. While this bike may not represent advancements in future biking, it is still an achievement which we haven’t seen done in the past. That’s enough to warrant inclusion in this list, from our perspective.
Forkless Cruiser Bike Concept Gallery
Furious Sports Bike Concept
The Furious Sports Bike Concept by Nenad Kostadinov is another experiment with the traditional bike frame, this time removing the down tube and top stoy. Unlike other concepts, however, this one appears to provide the support and stiffness needed for an efficient, comfortable and stable ride. Yet the change in frame structure isn’t what makes this bike special, it’s the on-board computer which displays various information about your ride. Speed, location, calorie consumption and other information is shown to the rider front and center throughout their session, be it for pleasure or a daily commute.
Furious Sports Bike Concept Gallery
Chris Boardman’s Intelligent Bike Concept
Pro cyclist Chris Boardman has pontificated on what the future of cycling may hold with his Intelligent Bike Concept. The Intelligent Bike Concept features a solar-powered backup motor, an onboard computer, a fingerprint security scanner and a spoke-free wheel design. We’re having a tough time spotting the photovoltaic panels, but since this is just a rendering we imagine they’ll be added later. Boardman’s bike concept is designed to add all the future-level functionality to a bike today, giving a rider a rounded cycling experience that may not be seen on the road for decades. Oh, and did we mention that it looks awesome?
Wire Bike Concept by Ionut Predescu
The Wire Bike Concept by Ionut Predescu is designed to be as light as a feather and as stiff as a board, achieving significant weight loss by using a suspension frame system instead of the standard bike frame. Think of it like a suspension bridge, where the weight of the payload helps sustain the structure’s form. Losing the top tube and the down tube of a traditional frame easily drops some weight from this bike, making for a lighter, more efficient ride. The solid pieces of this frame will be carbon fiber, while the cables themselves will be light kevlar.
Wire Bike Concept Gallery
Ruiter Simplicity Bike Concept
Designer Joey Ruiter developed a bike concept based on a philosophy of simplicity. All his bike needed was a pair of wheels, handle bars, a seat and pedals, in this case connected directly to the rear wheel. The Ruiter Simplicity Bike Concept ditches the crank, the chain and most of the frame of a typical bike, yielding a basic commuter bike to help its rider get from point A to point B. For us, the jury is out on this bike until we could get a chance to ride it. No gear system means low speeds (which removes the need for that front brake), the two-bar frame means it may not be stiff enough to remain stable and efficient, and that seat looks less-than-comfortable. What we do know about this bike is that it looks entirely lovely, and should reflect a philosophy of simplicity that other bike manufacturers can learn from.
Ruiter Simplicity Bike Concept Gallery
Eco 07 Bike Concept by Victor Aleman
Victor Aleman’s Eco 07 Bike Concept is designed not to fold down to size, but to be completely disassembled and fit into a box not much larger than a brief case. When you transport this bike, its space saving functionality is nearly unparalleled– for a full size bike. The Eco 07 Bike Concept isn’t designed to be deconstructed every day, just when it won’t be used for a while. Otherwise, this lovely orange, gray and silver bike looks like a fierce little fixey we’d love to pilot on the hard concrete.
Eco 07 Bike Concept Gallery
Peugeot B1k Concept Bicycle
Peugeot has established a long tradition of producing not only fine automobiles, but progressively designed bicycles as well. The Peugeot B1k Concept Bicycle is the latest and clearly the greatest in this tradition, a serious speedster with a range of next gen performance components. Its seat is raise higher than its joystick-style handlebars, its solid pedal-and-crank turns a chain-free rear wheel, and a carbonized construction means this bike weighs little more than a standard road bike. As far as this list goes, the Peugeot B1K Concept Bicycle is our clear favorite, easily the sexiest bike we have ever seen.
Peugeot B1k Concept Bicycle Gallery
Plus Bike Concept by Bortolani and Righi
The Plus Bike Concept by Bortolani and Righi is a gem in bicycle design, a form that throws aerodynamics out the window for an almost Victorian-inspired upright setting. Its futuristic frame shows the plus sign for which it is named, with a seat post separated from the central frame and lighting in both the back and front of the main tube. Like many others on this list, the Plus Bike may never see production, let alone a prototype, but we admire the ingenuity of Bortolani and Righi and salute them for this design.
Plus Bike Concept Gallery
So, what is your favorite bike from this list? It’s hard to beat that Peugeot B1k, but there are others that’ll give it a good ride for its money. Let us know your thoughts in the comments, and share with us any futuristic bike concepts you’ve seen that you think deserve a spot here.
